This project mapped areas of Florida identified as "disturbed" or "non-natural" in order to enhance our understanding of the distribution of these land cover types in Florida.

In 2007, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission's (FWC) Center for Spatial Analysis contracted with Avineon, Inc., located in Clearwater, to classify and map areas of Florida identified as "disturbed" or "non-natural" in order to enhance our understanding of the distribution of these land cover types in Florida.

Avineon personnel used Landsat Enhanced Thematic Mapper+ (ETM+) satellite imagery from 2006 and 2007 to identify 11 land cover and land use classes in the map. Avineon used land cover/land use data from Florida's water management districts to create a set of training points which were used to identify parametric and nonparametric spectral signatures. Those signatures served as reference information which was applied to the imagery, resulting in an 11-class map of altered land cover classes. This ESRI GRID represents that effort's results. In 2009, FWC biologists conducted an accuracy assessment of these data, by comparing the modeled land cover to photo-interpreted land cover.

You may obtain the Altered Landscapes raster dataset and documentation by downloading the final report in pdf format, by contacting our Records Technician at GISRequests@MyFWC.com, or by calling (850) 488-0588.

FWC Facts:Pyrodinium bahamense, an HAB organism that blooms each summer in Tampa Bay and Indian River Lagoon, chemically lights up to glow in the dark. This is called bioluminescence.

Pursuant to section 120.74, Florida Statutes, the Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has published its 2016 Agency Regulatory Plan.

Under Florida law, e-mail addresses are public records. If you do not want your e-mail address released in response to a public records request, do not send electronic mail to this entity. Instead, contact this office by phone or in writing..